That, essentially, is one of the key conclusions of a new landmark study of the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, Indonesia — the last place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos still survive together.

The research, from an international team that includes several prominent ALERT scientists, raises just about every red flag imaginable.

· The Leuser Ecosystem, which spans 2.6 million hectares, is much more severely fragmented and vulnerable than previously understood.

· Road building is by far the biggest threat to Leuser — opening a Pandora’s Box of threats, including illegal deforestation, logging, palm oil plantations, wildlife poaching, and haze-creating fires.

· Much road-building in the Leuser Ecosystem is ‘unofficial’ — a polite way of saying ‘illegal in most cases’. Remarkably, there are twice as many illegal than legal roads, collectively totaling about 10,400 kilometers in length.

· Although parts of the Leuser Ecosystem are still intact and undisturbed, these blocks of intact forest rely crucially on “forest links” — vulnerable areas that must be urgently protected to limit further forest fragmentation.

Political Battle

Officially, Indonesia’s federal government has designated the Leuser Ecosystem a “National Strategic Area” for environmental services.

But these protective efforts were actively undermined — especially by the former government of Aceh Province, which contains most of the Leuser Ecosystem.

The previous government in Aceh planned to crisscross the Leuser Ecosystem with major new highways and energy projects — schemes detailed in its notorious “Aceh Spatial Plan”.

One project — which ALERT has labeled the “Highway of Death” — would slice the Leuser Ecosystem completely in half.

The planned highway and energy schemes that would devastate the Leuser Ecosystem.

Equally alarming are a spate of new energy projects — mostly hydroelectric dams and geothermal projects — that would be located deep in the forest.

Besides flooding or destroying forests, these energy projects would require networks of new roads for construction and maintenance — roads that would cut into the heart of the Leuser Ecosystem, opening it up to a range of serious human pressures.

New Governor, New Hope

A bright new hope for the Leuser Ecosystem was the election last year of Irwandi Yusuf as Governor of Aceh Province.

Governor Irwandi has been far more sympathetic to the plight of Leuser Ecosystem than his predecessor.

Thanks to Governor Irwandi, most of the large highway and energy schemes ready to devastate the Leuser Ecosystem are on hold.

But Irwandi needs our voices and support (see here, here, and here for urgent issues where you can help) to keep these projects and their powerful foreign and domestic proponents at bay.

And government authorities and conservationists struggling alongside him to protect the Leuser Ecosystem are stretched desperately thin. Illegal activities are rampant.

Most of all, far too little attention is being paid to the devastating one-two punch of new roads and fragmentation. Eden can’t survive if it is sliced and diced into small pieces.

That’s the sound of degraded wild rivers, devastated fish populations, planetary warming, and indigenous and local residents losing their homes and livelihoods. Damn.

While large-scale dams have long been touted as an environmentally friendly energy resource—as green—they are anything but.

TROPICAL DAMS

In the tropics, a slew of mega-dams over the last few decades have led to crippled fisheries, conflicts with local and indigenous peoples, severe deforestation due from road networks created to build dams, and large releases of methane—a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide.

Because they spew out so much methane, dams in the tropics can actually produce more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil fuels such as coal.

Dams aren’t wreaking havoc only in South America. Asia’s mighty Mekong River is now threatened by a planned suite of massive dams.

And in tropical Africa, two massive dams, Inga 1 and Inga 2, have been built on the Congo River. A third planned mega-dam, Inga 3, would be the largest dam in the world.

HIGH RISKS, MEAGER REWARDS

Research has shown that dams are often not the good economic bet they are made out to be. For instance, the construction costs alone of megadams often outweigh their worth—not even accounting for their environmental and social costs.

And many megadams are used primarily to power large-scale industrial projects that suck up tremendous amounts of energy, such as mining and smelting industries, rather than promoting rural electrical supplies.

Just as important: there are strong alternatives to big, high-risk dams. ALERT member Philip Fearnside points out that Brazil has ample opportunity for efficient solar and wind energy, yet refuses to consider it seriously.

And a recent review article, coauthored by ALERT director Bill Laurance, found that hydropower is by far the most environmentally damaging of the so-called green energy sources, which also include wind and solar energy.

We need to stop pretending that dams belong in the ‘green’ category.

Biodiversity losses, conflicts with local communities, high economic risks, and major greenhouse-gas emissions are not green, but will only push us further down the road of the damned.

Jeremy Hance is a leading environmental journalist and regular contributor to ALERT.

That’s because development pressures never cease—even for the planet’s most critical ecosystems.

For example, ALERT recently reported good news for the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, Indonesia—a renowned World Heritage Area and the last place on Earth where tigers, orangutans, elephants, and rhinos still survive together.

Irwandi Yusuf, the governor-elect for Aceh Province in Sumatra, said he would personally halt a major geothermal plant proposed by a Turkish corporation that would be constructed right in the heart of the Leuser wilderness.

But wait—that battle isn’t won yet. Behind the scenes, the Turkish firm is now pressing the Indonesian government to fast-track the project, before Irwandi becomes governor.

Roads to Ruin

The Turkish geothermal plant isn’t the only danger to Leuser—several big hydropower projects are being proposed and other developments too.

These projects could shatter the Leuser wilderness, slicing up large expanses of the forest with powerlines and roads.

The roads would open a Pandora’s box of perils—bringing poachers armed with snares and rifles to hunt rare wildlife.

A snared tiger--that later died (Image (c) WWF)

The roads would also bring illegal miners, loggers, and encroachers that bulldoze, burn, and fragment the forest.

And as the forest is stripped away, streams are polluted and destructive flooding increases downstream for villages and farmers.

Illegal gold miners ravage a river in central Sumatra (photo by Bill Laurance)

Decision Time

Indonesia’s Minister for Environment and Forestry, Dr Siti Nurbaya, has previously fought for the Leuser Ecosystem, and visited Aceh last year to publicly declare a moratorium on new oil palm and mining leases in Leuser.

Minister Siti has also been active in opposing actions that defy environmental laws laid down by Indonesian President Joko Widodo—laws to combat illegal wildfires, mining, and other threats while reducing the noxious haze that has chronically blanketed much of Southeast Asia.

But now it’s decision time. On the one hand, Indonesia needs social and economic development—no one disputes that. But on the other hand, the Leuser Ecosystem is unique—arguably Indonesia’s most important protected area, a key tourist attraction and an international icon.

Ongoing deforestation in the Leuser Ecosystem

Will Minister Siti and President Widodo battle again for Leuser?

It won’t be easy. Powerful forces are in play—big corporations driving to exploit the forest immediately and irrevocably.

On the back of such decisions, global reputations can be forged and national prestige won or lost.

Whatever happens, lots of Indonesians and many other people around the world will be keenly watching—with one eye open even while we sleep.

Not many places left to hide for Sumatra's elephants (image (c) Gudkov Andrey)